Baltimore Life Insurance is a top provider of final expense insurance. However, it has a below-average financial strength rating and less competitive term life insurance than many competitors.
A.M. Best
B++
Standard & Poor’s
N/A
BBB
A+
The Baltimore Life Insurance Company
The Good
- Longstanding reputation
- Product availability
- No exam coverage
- Competitive final expense coverage
The Bad
- Subpar user experience
- Less brand recognition
- Limited online resources
- Lower financial ratings than most carriers
Product Availability
Policy Types
- Term
- Universal
- Whole
- Final expense
Riders
- Accelerated death benefit
- Accidental death benefit
- Children’s term
- Disability income
- Guaranteed insurability
- Waiver of premium
Overall
3.54
Price/Value
3.7
Financial Strength
1.9
User Experience
3.4
Product Availability
2.5
Brand/Size
2.2
Price/Value
One crucial consideration when you purchase life insurance is cost.
Your rates can be influenced by everything from your age to your health to your hobbies if they’re risky.
Some providers offer lower rates than others, so it’s important to compare quotes before you choose a company.
It’s hard to determine exactly what rates you’ll be eligible for from Baltimore Life because the company does not offer online quotes.
Overall, there are more competitively priced companies to choose from, especially if you’re looking for an affordable and robust term policy.
The company offers the most value to seniors looking for final expense coverage, its most competitive product.
Financial Strength
You shouldn’t base your choice of life insurance company on cost alone. It’s equally important to evaluate a company’s financial strength.
Your life insurance company should have a stable financial outlook which suggests it can pay out its claims.
To assess financial strength, we can look at the company’s performance and credit ratings.
The company has more than $1.2 billion in invested assets.
However, Baltimore Life is only rated by one of the four major credit rating agencies.
A.M. Best has given Baltimore Life a “B++” rating. While this rating is considered “very good,” there are far more highly rated insurers on the market.
Baltimore Life’s credit rating profile has resulted in a Comdex score of 48.
While you can count on the company to pay out claims based on this rating, there is room for improvement.
User Experience
Choosing the right carrier and buying coverage can be complicated. Your life insurance company should streamline the process.
To evaluate user experience, we’ve assessed factors like third-party ratings, Baltimore Life’s website, and the ease of application.
Ratings
Customer ratings can give insurance shoppers a realistic look into how a company treats its policyholders.
Two of the most authoritative rating sources for life insurance companies are the Better Business Bureau and J.D. Power.
J.D. Power releases an annual life insurance survey of the top life insurance carriers based on their customers’ overall satisfaction.
While it was not among the companies featured in the most recent survey, the company is rated by the BBB.
The Baltimore Life Insurance Company currently holds an “A+” rating from the BBB based on its user experience.
Website
Baltimore Life’s website presents information about its history, values, and community involvement.
It also provides transparent details regarding the company’s financial performance, with reports and ratings.
The site features several life insurance and retirement planning calculators, as well as educational content to help customers determine their needs. However, there are no online quotes.
While there are descriptions and downloadable brochures for each of the company’s policy offerings, important details like face amounts are not disclosed.
Policyholders can also use the site to make payments, but most policy updates cannot be carried out online.
Application
To get a quote or apply for a policy from Baltimore Life, you have to contact one of the company’s agents.
When you apply for a fully underwritten life insurance policy, you will be required to complete an interview, answering questions about your health and lifestyle.
You will likely have to complete a medical exam and allow the company to access your medical and driving records as well.
If you apply for a final expense policy from Baltimore Life, you can get a small amount of coverage after answering a few simple questions, regardless of your health.
Many providers allow you to apply completely online, or at the very least compare quotes, a drawback to consider with Baltimore Life.
Product Availability
Baltimore Life offers a range of term, universal, and whole life solutions, detailed below.
Term
Because of its affordability and simplicity, term life insurance is the most suitable option for most families.
It offers a guaranteed death benefit if you die during the term of coverage, in exchange for premiums.
Baltimore Life offers two term products: aPriority® and Protector.
These policies offer level premiums in durations of 10, 15, 20, and 30 years. Minimum coverage starts as low as $25,000 and several riders are available.
Baltimore Life’s term policies can also be converted into permanent coverage later.
Universal
Baltimore Life offers a handful of permanent policies, including the Lifetime Navigator Universal Life series.
Universal life insurance grants you a death benefit, plus an interest-bearing cash-value account.
You can tweak your death benefit and premiums as your expenses and needs change. The product has a no-lapse guarantee as well.
Unique to Baltimore Life is their 61-day grace period, more than double what most carriers allow, which gives customers facing financial hardships time to catch up on missed payments.
Whole
For permanent coverage with even more guarantees (at a much higher cost), customers can turn to one of Baltimore Life’s whole life policies.
With an Advantage or aPriority® Whole Life Insurance policy, you lock in your premiums and death benefit from day one.
The policy is guaranteed to cover the applicant and grow cash on a tax-deferred basis as long as premiums are paid and loans are correctly managed.
It also features a Guaranteed Insurability Option Rider, which allows one to buy additional coverage without having to go through underwriting again.
The company offers single-premium whole life insurance, too, which allows seniors to pass along sizable gifts like CDs or MMAs to their heirs.
Final Expense
For minimal final expenses, the Silver Guard Simplified Issue series is a great product.
There are several levels of coverage, ranging from guaranteed coverage, which requires no underwriting at all, to graded, which requires minimal underwriting.
Both include a modified death benefit, where only a partial payment is delivered if death occurs in the first few years, with the exception of accidental death.
Another appealing product for seniors is Generation Legacy, a multi-layered bundle where seniors can purchase a combination annuity and whole life contract.
Brand/Size
In 1882, five businessmen led by Frank Strobridge founded the Baltimore Life Insurance Company, then called The Baltimore Mutual Aid of Baltimore City.
Just 18 years later, the name would be changed to The Baltimore Life Insurance Company of Baltimore City, and later reduced to just The Baltimore Life Insurance Company.
While their home office is headquartered in Owings Mill, Maryland, Baltimore Life operates through independent agents nationwide in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
Baltimore Life insures more than 300,000 people, hosting products to suit everything from small needs to large estates.
In addition to individual life insurance, the company provides workplace policies and annuities.
Philanthropy
Baltimore Life is committed to strengthening communities through charitable efforts.
Each year, the company and its employees donate their time and funds to organizations in need.
Over the years, Baltimore Life has awarded over 600 grants to organizations across Maryland and its surrounding states.
The company also partners with United Way and the American Red Cross, hosting blood drives for the latter at its offices.
Brand Recognition
Baltimore Life is not as large nor as well-known as some of its competitors.
While the company sells policies to applicants nationwide, its home offices are more localized.
Likewise, it does not advertise on a large scale like some providers.
Baltimore Life does not have a major presence on social media, either, though it does have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.
Consensus
We’ve thoroughly reviewed Baltimore Life using the metrics above, but our assessment also factors in the opinions of other industry experts.
In most cases, Baltimore Life is not considered to be one of the best life insurance companies overall.
Because of its limited brand recognition, average user experience, and financial rating, Baltimore Life doesn’t stand up to the competition on every front.
However, it does offer an extensive policy lineup with competitive final expense coverage.
In addition, Baltimore Life is a very long-standing, trusted insurance company with hundreds of thousands of clients.
To ensure you get the right coverage from the best provider, do your research and compare quotes before locking into a policy.
The Baltimore Life Insurance Company
- Website
- baltlife.com
- Phone
- (800) 628-5433
- Address
- 10075 Red Run Boulevard
Owings Mills, MD 21117
Company Name (and subsidiaries)
- Baltimore Life Holdings, Inc.
- Baltimore Financial Brokerage